Probe into police assault of civilian

THE Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) said it is currently investigating the alleged assault of a civilian by an officer, as reported by The Witness yesterday.

Spokesperson Moses Dlamini said they were made aware of the incident last week.

“If there is evidence to support the allegations of assault, recommendations for prosecution will be made both to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and to police management. If the DPP decides to prosecute, the police officer(s) will be charged and go on trial. The police will have to institute an investigation and take disciplinary action,” said Dlamini.

The victim, Richards Bay resident, Rae Chivers was allegedly assaulted by one or two police officers while he attempted to film alleged inefficiencies at the Richards Bay police station on November 25.

Chivers was at the station at 5 am to report an accident when his vehicle and a cyclist collided. The cyclist was admitted to hospital but sustained minor injuries.

After nearly 30 minutes of waiting in the charge office Chivers started filming on his phone. The video clearly shows the office as vacant except for three police officers.

After repeatedly asking a constable in the charge office for help, to no avail, Chivers went outside and started filming a captain. The captain ordered Chivers to stop recording and he and another officer tried to grab the phone away from Chivers while demanding the memory card.

According to the video, which The Witness has seen, during the scuffle for Chivers’ phone an officer said to him “I will take you out”.

Dlamini said the suspects have not yet been identified by name.

A Richards Bay police spokesperson said on Monday the police would investigate the matter like all assault related cases.

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